Corey Jones shooting: State Attorney speaks to hundreds in crowd at rally

Crowds chant during a Rally for Transparency for Corey Jones in front of Palm Beach County State Attorney’s office in West Palm Beach on October 28, 2015. (Richard Graulich / The Palm Beach Post)

Before State Attorney Dave Aronberg spoke to the public for the first time about Corey Jones’ death at the hands of an officer, retired Judge Edward Rodgers sent him a message:

“We don’t trust you, Mr. Aronberg, and we don’t like you,” Rodgers said, calling for a special prosecutor at a rally that drew more than 300 people Wednesday to the State Attorney’s Office. “People are disappointed because time after time after time, officers are arrested and never, ever convicted.”

Later at the same rally, Aronberg promised to be transparent but said he was limited “by state and national ethics rules” to avoid sharing details of ongoing investigations.

“We are only allowed to provide some basic uncontroverted facts, or else it may jeopardize the investigation and any potential future prosecution,” he said, reading from a statement released about 30 minutes earlier.

Policing experts, however, say releasing more facts in an officer-involved shooting is unlikely to jeopardize the investigation. Authorities have refused to answer basic questions, such as whether Palm Beach Gardens officer Nouman Raja used his department-issued weapon, whether he activated any lights or sirens on his van or whether Raja notified his supervisors before confronting Jones.

Palm Beach County State Attorney Dave Aronberg makes a statement at a Rally for Transparency for Corey Jones in front of his offices in West Palm Beach on October 28, 2015. (Richard Graulich / The Palm Beach Post)

“When they don’t answer questions about officer-involved shootings, it leads to all kinds of speculation, and it leads to the cover-up theories and conspiracies,” Joseph Giacalone, a former NYPD detective sergeant, told The Post.

Aronberg, who said he has been keeping family members informed, confirmed some details, most of which were made public last week after he shared them with the family’s lawyers.

Aronberg’s details: Raja was on-duty in an unmarked van when he shot Jones, Raja was not in uniform, Raja fired six times and six shell casings were recovered, Jones was hit three times and Jones’ gun was found on scene and had not been fired.

Rodgers, Palm Beach County’s first black prosecutor, first black judge and first black chief judge in the county, made a similar call for a special prosecutor in 1985 to investigate an in-custody death at the Palm Beach County Jail. He told the crowd that a prosecutor from outside the county is needed and a grand jury should decide whether charges should be brought against Raja for Jones’ death.

“We need to punish (these officers), the wrong guys, because they are hurting everybody,” Rodgers said Wednesday. “Put them in jail, if that’s possible.”

While the crowd echoed Rodgers’ call Wednesday, Jones family attorney Skinner Louis told The Palm Beach Post on Tuesday that the family hasn’t asked Aronberg for an outside prosecutor.

“The family is looking for Aronberg to be transparent and impartial,” Louis said. “They are waiting to see if he does right by them by diligently and zealously seeking justice for Corey Jones.”

Raja is being represented by prominent local defense attorney Richard Lubin. Few other details of Raja’s encounter with Jones at 3:15 a.m. Oct. 18 on an Interstate 95 off ramp at PGA Boulevard have been released publicly.

The U.S. Department of Justice said in a report this year that the lack of information given out by police following the 2014 shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., stoked public unrest.

Under “Lessons Learned,” DOJ concluded, “Law enforcement should establish a practice to release all information lawfully permitted as soon as possible and on a continuing basis, unless there is a compelling investigatory or public safety reason not to release the information.

“A ‘compelling reason’ should be narrowly defined and limited in scope.”

Attorneys and local religious leaders also spoke to the crowd Wednesday, calling for more accountability for officers involved in police brutality cases.

“If the public doesn’t criticize officers’ inappropriate and illegal conduct, then who will?” said Matt Benzion, attorney from Boynton Beach and friend of Jones.

Frederick Banks Sr., Jones’ uncle, said just before the rally that he found comfort in a new cause after his nephew’s death.

“It gives you perspective about what’s really going on in the world, about how many people are being killed in similar situations. I think I’ll be attending rallies for all my life for things like this,” Banks said.

“Corey’s life was worth something,” he said. “Now, his death is worth something too.”